Unsure
by Molahsurey
Summary: Rickyl - Rick/Daryl Plain and simple.


Daryl hated that Rick was the one that caused him to lose his brother, if it weren't for that then he wouldn't have had a problem knowing that he actually liked the guy. He was wracked with guilt; he knew he shouldn't be fond of a man who left his brother on the roof of a building surrounded by walkers. But he couldn't help it, Rick was such a likable man; he was strong, smart, empathetic, and a really good leader. Heck, the rest probably wouldn't have made it back without him. And even though Daryl didn't take orders from anyone, even though he was his own leader, he would have followed Rick's lead without thinking twice.

He didn't know if he kept searching for Sophia because he had feelings for Carol or because Rick drove him to be a better man, maybe it could have been both, but he knew he had to do it.

He didn't expect to screw up so badly; he'd nearly died trying to find that girl. It was then that he realized he hadn't given Rick any sign whatsoever about the way he felt; he hadn't given any hint or clue. He admired the officer and he had to know that.

He made it back through the forest delirious and on the verge of collapsing. As he gazed blurry eyed in the direction of the camp he noticed that Rick was in the lead of the ones going to get him; of course, Rick was the leader, but it also made him feel like he cared. But as though the fall and the arrow and the walkers weren't bad enough, Andrea had to go and shoot him on top of it.

He tried not to cling onto Rick too desperately as the other man helped him back to the house, he didn't want to seem too needy, or too affectionate, but he couldn't help leaning into him as they neared their place of refuge. He could always handle himself but somehow he felt safe being so close to Rick, his arms around him, supporting him; his authoritative voice calling out to the others to bring him bandages and water. If Rick wasn't there he would have pushed everyone else away and tried to patch the wound up himself, which wouldn't have been easy.

Finally Rick got Daryl into a room and set him gently onto a bed, he gave him a concerned look as his hand brushed along his cheek as he straightened up, "You're a mess. What happened?"

Daryl forced himself to ignore the brush of his hand, wincing in pain as he answered, "Ain't got no time for explainin' right now, just make sure no one comes in here while I'm like this," he groaned.

He nodded, "Right, we should get you cleaned up first, then you can explain." He lifted Daryl's shirt up to take a look at the wound from the arrow.

Daryl inhaled sharply at the sting and slammed his fist into the bed, "Damn it! Be careful! Gah! It hurts like fucking shit!"

Now Rick was the one to wince, it looked bad, "Sorry, it's going to hurt. But if you keep calm I can wrap it up for you." He began to gather up everything he needed and set it all beside Daryl on the bed.

Daryl nodded silently, taking deep breaths. He didn't mean to be that way toward Rick, he just got like that when he was in pain or upset. "Hey, thanks..." he said quietly, glancing over at Rick briefly. He wasn't used to people taking care of him so he felt a bit awkward.

Rick smiled softly as he dipped a rag into a bowl of water, "There's nothing to thank me for. I feel a responsibility to look after you." Then he quickly added, "All of you." He almost blushed after practically admitting he kept an eye out for this man.

"I can look after myself," he retorted; but he was grateful, it actually meant a lot to him.

Rick snorted as he gestured to the wound, "Clearly."

It was a playful sarcasm but Daryl glared at him anyway, though he had to admit it was funny; he allowed a small chuckle, "Yeah, things happen," he smirked up at Rick.

Rick smirked back as he sat down on the bed, positioning himself so that he could comfortably reach the wound. "Try to stay still," he said as he began to pat the wound with the damp towel. Daryl's body jerked at the touch but he did the best he could not to move too much. The rag instantly soaked up quite a bit of blood and Rick Could see inside it, he tried to hide his reaction to seeing such a thing. He was never good with seeing people he cared about hurt, no matter how strong he attempted to be.

Daryl's brow furrowed, "Is it really that bad?" Rick didn't hide his concern too well.

He looked into Daryl's eyes as he continued to dab at it, "Uh, no, it's fine."

The eye contact made Daryl even more uncomfortable but he couldn't look away, this was the closest they've ever gotten to being intimate, the closest they've ever gotten in general, and he didn't want to ruin that. He swallowed nervously; he couldn't find any words to say.

Rick looked back down at the wound and cleared his throat, he didn't know why it went so quiet all of a sudden, and he didn't know quite what he was feeling. The blood was pretty much all sopped up now so he took the gauze bandage and began to wrap it around Daryl's torso; he had to ask Daryl to lift himself up off the bed as he did so. With Daryl leaning on his elbows and his back arched Rick could hardly keep from leaning into him, let alone breathe; their eyes were locked in an intense gaze.

Even when the gauze was too short to go around anymore Rick stayed close to Daryl, his gaze wondering down to his lips, and let out a shuddering breath. He didn't know what was coming over him and it was actually sort of freaking him out. In his head he was screaming, telling himself to say something, so he blurted out what was on his mind, "I don't like you getting hurt."

Daryl swallowed nervously before rolling his eyes and laughing off the warm feeling that gave him, "Why? It ain't like I'm your wife or nothin'," he snorted. "Lori and Carl are the one's ya need to worry about."

Rick pulled back a bit with a serious expression so he could secure the bandage, nodding, "I know. But I can't help it, I worry." He finished with the bandage and began to gather things up. He looked into Daryl's eyes one more time before turning to stand.

Before Rick could fully stand Daryl reached out and grabbed his wrist, "Wait…"

The officer froze before turning and slowly sitting back down; he waited to hear what Daryl had to say.

Daryl let go of Rick's wrist and cleared his throat, looking down, "I don't like ya gettin' hurt either."

That was it, after that confession he couldn't keep his feelings hidden anymore, even if he was scared that it would scare Daryl off. He moved closer to Daryl, getting right up in his face to show this was a serious matter, "Look. I don't just worry about you, and I don't just care about you. It's a lot more than that. The way I feel about you, there are no words for it. And if there are… they wouldn't be appropriate. You know what I mean?"

Rick's expression was scary intense and brimming with so much emotion that Daryl felt like a deer in the headlights, or more so, a deer caught within the range of his own bow and arrow. He blinked a couple times before replying, "I do know what ya mean. It's the same for me."

They stared at each other for what felt like a very long time, Rick racking his brain, trying to figure out exactly what all this meant. Daryl on the other hand was growing restless and began to shift his body around slightly, he felt like he couldn't be this close to Rick without touching him but he didn't want to startle the man in front of him.

Finally Rick snapped out of it a bit and spoke, "Um, so… We have feelings for each other?"

Daryl nodded, "Guess so."

Rick brought a hand up to his face and rubbed it, sighing, "I have a family." Rick had somewhat been hoping that if he told Daryl how he felt then the other man would wake him up, tell him that he didn't really feel that way. He wasn't really expecting Daryl to feel the same way.

Daryl's heart dropped and he looked down before looking up at Rick from under his lashes, fidgeting with the sheets, "That don't matter. They don't have to know…"

Rick looked at him with his hand on his mouth, pondering; he wanted so badly to believe that wasn't wrong, "They'll find out eventually. People always do."

Daryl sat up enough to gently grab Rick's hand and moved it away from his mouth. He looked into the officer's eyes, "I don't wanna go the rest of whatever life I have wonderin' what it's like to kiss ya." He pulled Rick closer, "I wanna explore this."

Rick inhaled deeply, his chest heaving, at the closeness. Those words that Daryl spoke were spot on to what he himself was thinking. He didn't want to die wondering what it would be like. He placed his hand down on Daryl's unharmed side and ran it slowly upwards, leaning in even more. If this was going to happen it was going to happen right now.

Daryl inhaled sharply at the cool touch of Rick's hand on his warm torso, goose bumps breaking out all over his body. He swallowed again; their mouths were just inches apart, making his heart beat a mile a minute. He closed the distance just enough so that he could barely brush his lips against Rick's, inviting him to go all the way.

Rick breathed out a soft noise as their lips touched ever so slightly, his own heart racing. He scooted closer to Daryl as he brought a hand up to cup his cheek, squeezing his side with his other hand affectionately, before leaning forward and kissing him, pushing Daryl back into the bed.

A soft, muffled noise rumbled through Daryl as he kissed back. This was better than he had anticipated. The kiss alone, in a way, was a release. He'd never taken things so slowly before, done things so gently, he'd never wanted to before. He began to lift Rick's shirt up, wanting to see and feel his fair skin and lean body. Rick broke the kiss just long enough to remove his shirt before straddling Daryl and going right back to how he was. Daryl ran a hand up Rick's back as he gently gripped Rick's hair with the other, kissing him deeply.

Rick groaned into the kiss and moved his body slightly against the other man's, unable to keep his hips from bucking down into him. Daryl's grip on his hair tightened as his own body responded by bucking upwards. Their bodies continued to move like that, their abdomens rubbing against one another's to the point that they were both aching with need. Rick's hand began to drift down Daryl's torso until he reached his erection, kneading it through his jeans, causing Daryl to break the kiss and moan loudly. Rick continued to work him, loving the noises coming from him and the expression he was making. Daryl didn't even have to touch him back, just the sight alone made him harder.

Daryl moaned a moment more before wrapping his arms tighter around Rick and kissing him again. The moment was so, extremely intense; he wasn't expecting this at all. And neither was Rick. Rick used the weight of his body to help him apply more pressure to Daryl's erection, his own hard on rubbing against Daryl's hip.

This time Rick broke the kiss in order to moan audibly. He rested his forehead on Daryl's shoulder, "Fuck…" He kissed at Daryl's neck as he felt himself grow close, euphoria starting to wash over him.

Daryl's body began to jerk roughly into Rick's, he was also growing close. "Ugh… Rick…" he said with a guttural moan, his body tensing. Rick removed his hand from Daryl's erection and began to grind their abdomens together again, his hands now gripping the sheets on either side of the man under him.

Both men were at the absolute peak of their ecstasy without actually orgasming, Rick letting out sharp, broken moans and Daryl whimpering in pleasure underneath. They both wanted to hold onto the moment as long as they could. But unfortunately they couldn't hold onto it forever and they both convulsed as they came together, intense waves of emotion and relief and pleasure flooding through them. Never would either of them have guessed it would be like that, that it would be that good.

Rick slumped down onto the bed next to Daryl's good side, panting, "So glad we did that…"

Daryl nodded with his eyes closed and swallowed, trying to catch his breath, "Me too…"

Rick looked over at Daryl, his chest heaving, "We should do it again, if we ever get the chance."

Daryl looked back at him, "For sure." He turned onto his side and brushed the other man's cheek with his knuckles, "Thank ya for that."

Rick grabbed Daryl's hand and kissed it, "No, thank you."


End file.
